West Virginia
West Virginia overcomes uncanny odds to upset No. 7 Kansas in men's basketball
Well, that’s one way to bring in the new year.
Let’s begin with why what happened in Lawrence Tuesday wasn’t supposed to happen. This was West Virginia’s 12th trip to Allen Fieldhouse. The Mountaineers had lost the first 11.
This was the conference opener for Kansas. The Jayhawks had won 33 in a row, dating back to the elder George Bush administration.
Kansas was 7-0 at home this season. West Virginia’s only true road game had been to Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers lost by 24 points.
West Virginia’s second-leading scorer Tucker DeVries? Couldn’t play. Injured.
West Virginia’s third-leading scorer and top rebounder Amani Hansberry? Out. Bad ankle.
The rankings? Kansas No. 7, West Virginia down in the also-received-votes section.
RANKINGS: AP Top 25 Poll | Power 37 rankings | NET rankings
The Mountaineers’ flight to Lawrence? Delayed, so they didn’t get in until the wee hours of Tuesday. It was almost 2025 in New Zealand by then.
The team hotel? Lost power Tuesday morning.
The ability to put the ball where inventor of the game and former Kansas coach Dr. James Naismith always intended — right in the ol’ peach basket? Kansas was 22nd in the nation in field goal percentage. West Virginia was 231st.
Yep, sounded like it should be Jayhawks all the way. But then the game started.
By the 15-minute mark, West Virginia had nine points and Kansas hadn’t scored yet. By halftime, the Mountaineers’ lead was 13. With 18 minutes left, it was 18.
No, the Jayhawks would not be blown away in their own hallowed building. College basketball hasn’t gone that crazy. Kansas finally pulled even at 61-61 with 15 seconds left on a conventional 3-point play by Zeke Mayo. When all else fails against West Virginia, the Jayhawks always have the foul line. In 2018, Kansas beat the Mountaineers 77-69 in Lawrence with a 35-2 gap in free throw attempts. When Mayo hit the free throw to get his team even Tuesday, the scoring differential from the line was 19-3.
Forced into overtime after leading for 38 minutes and 35 seconds would be debilitating and deadly for West Virginia, right? No one will ever know. Javon Small faked Kansas freshman Flory Bidunga into the air and drew a foul with 1.8 seconds left. Small missed the first free throw — might as well squeeze all possible drama out of the moment — but then hit the second. It ended 62-61, the Mountaineers beat the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse with a free throw. A good many West Virginia faithful would appreciate the irony in that.
So Kansas is 0-1 in conference play. The last time that could be said was January of 1991 when the Jayhawks lost to Oklahoma. The league was called the Big Eight then, the winning coach for the Sooners was Billy Tubbs, and the losing coach in only his third season with the Jayhawks was Roy Williams. Current Kansas coach Bill Self was an assistant at Oklahoma State and current West Virginia coach Darian DeVries was in high school and too young to drive. It was the same year the Buffalo Bills took their first Super Bowl loss, Michael Jordan won his first NBA title, the Atlanta Braves played in their first World Series and Mike Krzyzewski became a first-time national champion.
In other words, West Virginia overturned a lot of history Tuesday, no matter how many obstacles were in the way.
“I’m incredibly proud of the guys, especially with the circumstances — the injuries and the travel,” DeVries said. “Like we always talk about, there are no excuses in our program; we are going to line up and go compete.”
The Mountaineers had already proven that at the Battle 4 Atlantis when they played three overtime games in three days, shocking Gonzaga and Arizona and losing to Louisville. This latest turn puts their record at 10-2. Now would be a good time to mention West Virginia was 9-23 last season, so the Mountaineers topped that win total before the ball dropped in Times Square.
Self and the Jayhawks could ponder several malfunctions. The team that normally shoots so well hit only 38.8 percent. Take away Mayo, Hunter Dickinson and Dajuan Harris Jr. and the rest of the Kansas team provided only 11 points. Self is still trying to find the right pieces to fit around his stars. The defense never rattled West Virginia, forcing only six turnovers and blocking no shots. The offense had only 10 assists. It all left the Jayhawks 9-3, which is hardly awful, but Kansas hasn’t started that slowly since 2013-14. And this makes three losses in the past five games.
SOON: Questions that need answering as 2025, and conference play, enter the fold
Bottom line in Lawrence: A lousy way to send out 2024.
“Well, I doubt there’ll be people at 11:59 doing any countdowns tonight,” Self said. “So yeah, we’re down. We’ll bounce back, but we’re down. And certainly the league’s a monster and in order to play this league, you need to hold serve at home and we obviously didn’t accomplish that. So we just need to continue to grind and stick together and we’ll get better.
“But, the reality of it is we’re not the team that I think a lot of us thought we would be on January 1. We got a good team, but we can obviously be beat, and today, we were by a team that was better than us. They played smart, they controlled tempo. They did a really nice job. And we got to understand something — every game in our league will be similar to that. It’ll be a rock fight.”
Also every so often, maybe the gods of basketball just look at what is supposed to on happen paper and turn the game upside down. They like to have their fun on New Year’s Eve, too.
ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) — Davis and Elkins College is home to the Flynn Planetarium, which is the host of different events showcasing the mysteries of the universe. This past weekend, guests were able to grab some snacks and learn about stars, planets and galaxies.
Jerod Caligiuri, an assistant professor of astronomy at the school hosted the series of events. He believes the space is an important place for people to learn about the unknown.
“It’s a great resource. It’s a small planetarium but it’s a great resource for the community,” Caligiuri said.
Since launching a Facebook page for the planetarium, he said hundreds have come to see what it is all about. Caligiuri added that nobody knows everything about the universe and that adds to the fun of exploring it.
“Nobody knows everything and that’s what makes it exciting” Caligiuri said. “So, there’s always more to learn, always more to discover, and it’s a really big universe out there,”
He added that over the years, the planetarium has seen some upgrades, but he is still looking to lift up it’s capabilities.
“If donations come in, I would love to upgrade the projection system,” Caligiuri said.
He finished by encouraging people to check it out next time they have an event.
By Brett Dunlap
For The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Parkersburg – Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park will commemorate West Virginia Day on Saturday with a variety of activities.
Park Superintendent Craig Pyles said the park is partnering with the Blennerhassett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to put on a variety of programming to mark the anniversary of West Virginia becoming a state on June 20, 1863.
“This year, we have crafters doing things of the time period, which will make it that much more interesting,” he said.
The event will have an information booth that includes things like flag codes, Constitution booklets, patriotic pins and thank-you cards for veterans utilizing an America 250 backdrop. People can sign a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and there will be goodie bags for kids, as well as information on the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Demonstrations and activities around the flag will be done by Shannon Sams-Harper, Melody Zimmerman and Catherine Sams. Sams will also be doing a cooking demonstration on an open fire utilizing dutch ovens to cook soup beans and sweet potato pecan biscuits.
Mary Ellen Brown will present a demonstration in which participants can make their own candle. People will be able to participate in the hands-on use of a washboard, organizers said.
A writing/coloring station will include writing with a quill and ink on parchment paper and a patriotic coloring book with crayons.
There will be a spinning wheel demonstration with Angie Wilson and a blacksmithing demonstration with John Schlicher.
Brian Clary will offer an interpretive program entitled “A Messenger in the Ohio Country.” This first-person program focuses on the American Revolution in the Ohio Valley and aligns with America 250 commemorative programming.
Dick and Martha Hartley will also be doing interpretive programs. Martha will examine the roles and functions of hats and what the wearer may be doing while wearing a specific hat. Dick Hartley will portray Peter Taylor, the Blennerhassetts’ English gardener, and discuss who Taylor was and what the gardens he planted and maintained on the island were like.
At 12:30 p.m., Pyles will read a West Virginia Day Proclamation, followed by free cake and ice cream for those in attendance.
Activities will be going on throughout the day, before and after the proclamation ceremony.
Pyles suggests people wanting to be there for the proclamation come over on the 11 a.m. boat to allow plenty of time to take in some of the sights and demonstrations.
“That would give people time to wander the grounds and see the crafters before the start of the ceremony,” he said.
Regular tours of the island and its usual attractions will be going on throughout the day.
All special West Virginia Day program events on the island are free but the boat ride over is $12 for adults and $8 for children 3-12. Wagon rides are $13 for adults and $11 for children. Guided mansion tours are $5.
Read more from The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, here.
The post Blennerhassett Island to commemorate West Virginia Day Saturday appeared first on West Virginia Press Association.
BEVERLY, W.Va (WDTV) – The West Virginia Celtic Festival took place Saturday at Camp Pioneer in Randolph County.
People from around the country came to celebrate their Scottish and Irish heritage at the fourth annual event.
The festival included Irish dancing, Highland games and live Celtic music. Participants set up tents around the park for the public. Artifacts from Celtic heritage and history were on display.
The event was expected to reach up to 5,000 attendants.
“Today we’re hosting the fourth annual West Virginia Wild and Wonderful Celtic Festival and Highland Games. It’s a celebration of Celtic culture and heritage and history,” said David Ferguson, a participant. “We have Highland Games, heavy athletics. We have the athletes throwing the cabers, throwing the heavy stones. A lot of fun athletics to watch. We have Highland dancers. We have musical entertainment. We have something for everybody. We have a lot of fun activities for the kids.”
A Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan service will take place Sunday at the Beverly Presbyterian Church.
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